KSTP-TV Archive

About the Collection

A pioneer television station, KSTP-TV was the first station in the Midwest to air a daily newscast and became the first full-color television station in the world. Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. gave the KSTP-TV Archive to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1994 and it holds over 3 million feet of news film (1948-1980) and 2,500 videotapes (1976-1993). Over a period of ten years, with support from the Hubbard Family Foundation, the news film was cleaned, spliced, cataloged, and rehoused in a secure and climate-controlled storage area. The news video has not yet been as extensively treated, but it is also housed in a secure and climate-controlled storage area.

This premiere television news film collection covers the social, political, economic and natural landscape of Minnesota for the second half of the twentieth century.

Examples from the Collection

The clips in the KSTP collection provide a glimpse into Minnesota and national history, and they highlight some of Minnesota's people, events, tragedies and triumphs. Click on each of the images below to see specific examples of footage from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, respectively.

Research in the KSTP-TV News Archive

There is not a full public catalog of the KSTP-TV materials. A small portion of the collection's clips--about 575--can be searched through Collections Online and some of these clips can be viewed online, as well. A non-public catalog of film clips in the KSTP news film collection is available to staff. Requests for research or reference assistance can be sent through the Library's email form; please be sure to indicate that your question is regarding Audio-Visual/Moving Images. The portion of the collection recorded on video--which includes most materials dating from the mid-1970s to the early-1990s--is not currently cataloged and is not accessible to researchers.

Requests for Use

The KSTP-TV Archive is supported by funds from the Hubbard Family Foundation and by fees for research, copying, and use. Reproductions or permissions for use of any material in the collection are provided under license agreement for purposes indicated and agreed upon by the user and the Minnesota Historical Society. Request copies or use by submitting the Media Duplication Request Form. Commercial reproductions of the KSTP-TV Archive are also available through CONUS ARCHIVE

Other Inquiries

The Society continues to promote long-term care, create further information about, and provide access to this important collection. We appreciate your support and input. Please direct inquiries NOT related to research or use/licensing to collections@mnhs.org